VIDEO: Officer Hospitalized, Inmate Shot Dead After Hostage Situation at Oklahoma Jail

WREXHAM, WALES - MARCH 15: A prison guard walks through a cell area at HMP Berwyn on March
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Amy Furr

A hostage situation on Saturday at the Oklahoma County Jail ended when authorities said police shot and killed an inmate who held a correctional officer hostage.

“Shortly after 4 p.m., a correctional officer was overrun by at least one inmate during pill pass and taken hostage,” KOCO reported.

Greg Williams, the administrator for the Oklahoma County Jail Trust, said the inmate took the officer’s radio and keys, then released several inmates on the 10th-floor’s pod.

The outlet continued:

Jail staff notified local law enforcement agencies, and officers with the Oklahoma City Police Department and the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene. Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson III said the officers tried to de-escalate the hostage situation, but shots were fired after he said the inmate had the correctional officer in a “hostage position” and held something to his neck.

“Lethal force was taken, and the suspect was shot on scene,” Johnson noted, adding, “We were able to get the detention officer out safely.”

The correctional officer was transported to a hospital and although authorities did not release the extent of his injuries, he is expected to be okay.

The officer and inmate’s names were not released.

KFOR reporter Jessica Bruno shared several videos of what appeared to be the inside of the jail, writing, “Facebook live video is coming in from the 10th floor of the Oklahoma County jail where a corrections officer is being held hostage, according to OCSO officials”:

In one clip, an inmate said, “We can’t take showers”:

Another video seemingly showed a clogged toilet and a person behind the camera said, “It ain’t nothing against the CO, man. We ain’t got no mirrors in here, the water don’t work, toilet backed up. It’s what we dealing with”:

Yet another clip recorded what appeared to be an officer on his knees:

“Ain’t got nothing to do with this CO. He just so happen to be a product of the situation, man,” the individual behind the camera stated.

Bruno also shared a clip taken closer to the man on his knees:

When a Twitter user asked Bruno if someone took the officer’s body camera, she replied, “It appears they took his phone.”

Police Chief Wade Gourley told reporters the department’s investigation into the incident and shooting is currently in the preliminary stages, the KOCO article read.

“Several investigators have been called in to conduct interviews, and the Oklahoma City Police Department will take the lead on the investigation,” the outlet concluded.

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